8th Street Pale Ale | Four Peaks Brewing Company - 8th Street Brewery

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Had it on tap at the brewery in Tempe, this was my introduction to 4 Peaks. I thought it was an excellent example of English pale ale. The aroma is a beautiful blend of pale malt and English hops (my nose said Goldings), acting as an invitation to drink. The beauty of the aroma carries through to the flavor and mouth feel. The balance of malt, hop flavor, sweet and bitter is excellent. To my taste, it would be hard to improve on this one.

Jumping right in, the 8th Street Ale is an English-style pale ale and has been commended on its taste proximity to ales brewed in England, thanks to the British grown Kent Golding and Fuggle hops. Enough with the fancy talk though. This beer is a lovely coppery maple syrup color, or even a burnt orange depending on the light. It pours with lots of carbonation into a rich, soapy off-white head that leaves behind a considerable amount of thick lace.

The smell is a of wonderful sweet barley concoction permeated by a light yeasty tint and a mixture of spicy floral and something woodsy. There isn't a whole lot of bitter in the scent, which I didn't expect initially because of the types of unique hops used in the brew, but I discovered that the spiciness was thanks to the Kent Golding hops.

The taste is almost exactly like the smell, only with a smoky sweet malt, rather than barley, and the bitterness finally rearing its head. Again, expecting an overwhelming bitterness, I was pleasantly surprised with the bitter flavor and how light it was; I was relieved that it refused to stick to my tongue for an unappetizing after taste. The 8th Street Ale has quite a light mouth feel, just passing over the line into watery, and ends more on the dry side - thankfully neither of these do anything to take away from the tasty flavors.

I found this English-style ale very easy to drink, and would enthusiastically pick up a six-pack in the future. It is an excellent Arizona beer, made light and ready for the hotter temperatures from April to October. It is recommended to be accompanied by Indian or Middle-Eastern food, but as I'm not the biggest fan of either, I say this would be spot on with a nice basket of fish and chips. If you're going to go with an English-style beer, you might as well go with English-style food! Cheers!

N- Toasted grain with a beery twang and a blanket of flowers. Also some caramel, spice, soft fruity accents, and a hint of citrus.

T- Crisp toasted grain sweetened with a little caramel and balanced with an exceptionally smooth hop bitterness. Fruity and floral hops add another dimension to the malt, and some juicy citrus quenches the thirst, enticing you to take the next drink.

A: This beer was a transparent orange/light tan color. It had a good 1/2" to 3/4" head when poured that went away pretty soon. There was an average amount of carbonation bubbles rising in the glass.

S: There was an enjoyable floral and fruity hops smell. This may be my favorite beer in regard to aroma, and I often compare the smell of other beers to this one.

T: The beer tastes similar to its aroma. There was a perfect balance between bitter hops and sweet malt. Although the beer was well balanced, I did not find it at all boring or plain.

M: The beer had a good specific gravity for the style, which contained a slightly above average carbonation compared to mainstream beers. The head was noticeable but not too thick while it lasted.

D: Overall, this is a very drinkable beer that I would enjoy having often. The flavor is balanced yet complex and would be appropriate for a variety of occasions and food parings. Furthermore, I enjoyed this English pale ale much more than the Boddingtons Pub Ale I have tried. This is currently my favorite beer.

I had a couple of pints of this on tap at the Four Peaks Brewery in Tempe earlier today. I've had some of their other brews and found them to be lacking in flavor (Sunbru and Kilt Lifter) or over hopped for my palate (Hop Knot). The 8th Street Pale Ale was just right. Very well rounded and balanced. I'll be looking to get this at my local grocery store.

Appearance
It was on tap and filled to the brim of the pint glass, so its kind of hard to say. Light copper color. Not that much visible carbonation. Good lacing.

Smell
Malts and floral hops.

Taste
Malts and floral hops. Perfectly balanced. Clean. Not bitter.

Mouthfeel
Very smooth and drinkable. Good, solid, medium body. Clean finish. The hops are floral in character, so the finish was not that bitter or dry. Goes down super smooth but has body and character.

Overall
A pretty awesome beer. Well done Four Peaks. Balance and clean flavor are the hallmarks of this brew. Wonderful hop character. Good body. Smooth, flavorful, and satisfying. Definitely worth trying if you go to either of their pubs or see it in a store.

Choosing to review the cask version of this beer, which is fantastic. (I like the bottled/draught version well enough, but on cask this really shines). FP deserves some serious credit for their cask management -- rare is the day when I find a cask beer there in poor condition. 8th Street on cask is absolutely, 100% British in nature, floral hops interplay with a pleasant maltiness, perhaps a touch caramel-heavy at times, but overall really well weighted and tasty. No American hops here -- just Fuggles and Golding -- and, again, they work to perfection. This is easily as good as any ESB/English pale ale I had in the UK. Kudos, Four Peaks.